I have been trying to get ready for my upcoming trip to Manila to see My Sweet Baby Jeanneth. We met online almost two years ago, and have conducted our entire relationship via Skype, Yahoo, texting and phone calls. This is our first meeting in person, and I have been just a tad bit nervous. This rendezvous has been in the planning stages for months and months. We are both as excited as teenagers.
I have gone over a checklist of things to take on my trip over and over. A lot of it is pure vanity stuff like my favorite sunglasses, a couple of my work-shirts (new and unworn) that Jeanneth wanted, half a dozen pair of shorts, a few t-shirts, and ball-caps, again, mostly souvenirs for her. I have had my shots and got my teeth cleaned and whitened, and have even been doing cruches for the past few months, so hopefully, I won’t embarrass my future wife when we hit the fantastic beaches around Manila.
Our relationship has been difficult, living half a world away from each other. It is really incredible that it has survived. One of the most beneficial tools for us has been video chatting. We have used Skype and Yahoo! as our primary means of communication. Jeanneth taught herself English, and while she will disagree, I think she speaks it very well. Video chatting allows sort of a bridging effect when her English falls a little short, because I can see her facial expressions, hand jestures, and sometimes even live demonstrations of what point she is trying to make. While talking on the telephone is not unheard of for us, mostly when she is away from home, it falls far short in bringing the kind of bonding we have found in our hundreds of hours of video chats. We may live 13 time zones apart, but video has made it possible for us to make the best of a hard situation. I will see you in Manila baby!
